Friday, October 23, 2009

Got Matthew Thorburn's new chapbook, Disappears in the Rain, in the mail a couple days ago, and it's a beaut. The book itself is one long poem, kind of a meditation on meditations, with this subtle narrative chord that hums through it with this voice that balances between an American idiom and eastern quietness. I'm not sure if that made any sense to you, but if you read the book, wonderful things will happen to you, I promise. It's an intricate collage of the natural and modern and simulation. There's too much good stuff to pick from here for a sample (but I did, anyway, for you). And, like the conveyor belt in the passage below, this book just continually brings beautiful sustenance to its lucky readers. You can get a copy over at Matt's blog, which you should do as soon as possible.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I'm happy to report that my second book, RUNOFF, will be published sometime in the Winter by BlazeVOX Books. The book itself is four long poems, one for each season, each collectively marking the passing of one year. In the meantime, to whet your appetite, here's the cover:

Sunday, October 11, 2009

I dug these poems by Phil Levine at Poetry Daily earlier this week, and thought you might want to check them out. As of fan of Levine's older stuff, I'm really excited to see him writing about life as it looks to him today (versus way back when in Detroit). Good stuff.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Just got word from Mike Young that NOÖ #10 is live and kicking online, and available for your immediate reading pleasure. Check it out--I've got a poem in there with some great company, including Ron Padgett, Amy King, and Jason Bredle. Pop some corn and sit down with this thing. Spread the word.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Like, it's night time & there are these two guys & they're all like, I'm gonna break into this BANK, yo. To steal the MON-ey. And the other guy is like, yo, what about the H_NGM_N? Like for realz? And the first guy is like what - that tired old washed up old guy? Like no one has even SEEN him for like YEARS or something. Guys probably dead.

And the second guy is like yo. And so it was that there were guys straight up robbing banks all over the city & when I say bank I mean JOURNALS PUBLISHING BAD POETRY & then there's like this quick cut, right, where you see like SOMEthing on a balcony or some junk, like high up like looking down all bad@$$ & then these two guys are like about the break into the bank still? By which I mean BAD POETRY RUNNING RAMPANT all up in the grill of the fair city? And what?

So that's it man. It's like yo - H_NGM_N #8. SWOOP. And like everyone thought he was dead & yo & like that was it? But he's here & cleaning house & by house I mean THE LANDSCAPE OF CONTEMPORARY POETRY & by cleaning I mean like straight up cleaning.So it's like not only for you but for the city & banks & POETRY & also for yourself that you must needs click yon link & spread the word that, like, if you were afraid to go out at night? Or read poetry? There is no more reason to fear ever now:

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Been reading through and enjoying the new issues of Willow Springs and The American Poetry Review. They're fantastic, and I've got some poems in them. You should buy copies of both. They're perfect for the summer. Like getting a good deal on a gas grill.

Happy 4th. Eat some hot dogs, spill some ice cream. Blow up the sky with a thousand small and screaming fireworks.

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Tusculum Review has a new issue coming out, a hot one. To celebrate it, they're having a reading this Thursday, April 30th. I'll be reading with Brent House, so if you're anywhere around, come out. Make small talk. Listen to some poetry. Buy an issue, and one for your friends, too. Here's the link with more details:

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I've got a couple readings coming up at a couple very cool events, so if you're anywhere in the surrounding area, come out and say hi.

First, is the Slash Pine Poetry Festival, April 24th and 25th, all over Tuscaloosa, AL. Joseph P. Wood is putting this thing on, and it looks to be a beaut. Just check out the lineup, which features a ton of good folk, including friends Nate Pritts and Matt Hart, and the woman, Jan LaPerle. If you live anywhere near this thing, it should be a really good time. Come out.

Second, is The Tusculum Review launch party, featuring me and Brent House, April 30th, 7p.m. Editor-extroidanaire Wayne Thomas is putting this one on, and you should know some very good things are happening in Tusculum. Come out and get a copy of the new issue, see us read, shake some hands--it's not that far.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

"Every so often one comes across a first book of poems that radically shirks off the normative first book formula which says, “This profound stuff happened to me and I’m going to tell you what it means.” More often than not, the product of the first book equation is a poetry that meets our expectations (however low they may be), but fails to address the urgency of our times. Thankfully we have Clay Matthews’s first full-length collection, Superfecta, to prod and admonish us, to remind us that poetry can have something to say in the face of American vulnerability, mortality, late capitalism, ubiquitous pop-culture clutter, and urban sprawl. And for readers willing to risk betting even just a little time and effort, the payoff they receive will far exceed their meager investment."

Now please go and read the rest of it here, and thank you, thank you, Josh.

Monday, February 16, 2009

"Doubt not, O poet, but persist. Say, 'It is in me, and shall out.' Stand there, baulked and dumb, stuttering and stammering, hissed and hooted, stand and strive, until, at last, rage draw out of thee that dream-power which every night shows thee is thine own; a power transcending all limit and privacy, and by virtue of which a man is the conductor of the whole river of electricity."

Monday, January 19, 2009

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Back in Tennessee, and gearing up for another semester. Gearing up for spring. Spent New Year's Eve in Memphis with Amy LaVere and the North Mississippi Allstars. The latter you probably already know. The former you should. You should also know this shoe: